It all began last year in the quiet Serbian town of Nis where the 7th National Serbian Jamboree slowly unfolded over the course of 10 long summer days. With many months of frenzied fundraising, Centurion had managed to get a party of 14 nervously through passport control and into the land of the mighty Serbs! In the days that followed we were bowled over by the kindness of our hosts. We shared in their history, their culture, their tradition, their shindiggery and even in their sleeping bags when on the last night the heaven’s opened. In doing so we made friends not only with Serbians, but also with the Luxembourgoisie’s, Macedonians and even the Scots. We came away with new friends, new ideas, new stories and new limits on the amount of bread we were able to consume in a day. But it didn’t stop there…

We kept in touch with a number of the Serbian groups we had met and as the 21st World Scout Jamboree approached, it became clear how we could return the generosity and hospitality that was shown to us in Serburbia. We have already regaled you with tales of our HoHo antics below, but it doesn’t stop there…

As a result of our fervent friendship finding across the globe, Greater London North East has presented us with the International Friendship Award for 2007! This award, presented to the county by Canadian scouts in 1989 is awarded by the County Commisioner each year to a group or individual that best reflects the nature of international scouting. We were honoured to receive the award and once again must thank the Jones, Campbell, Winston and Suggate households for providing beds during HoHo, and to everyone that took part – from the initial trip to Serbia to the Jambo HoHo and for remaining friends ever since! Good going team!

Nov 2007

With that in mind, we had to make sure we went that extra mile, so when one question said to “Take a photo of two unit members at Busking Pitch 1 in Liverpool Street Station, each with a musical instrument”, we turned up with an oboe, a fiddle, guitar, keyboard, spoons, euphonium and of course a full drum kit, much to the pleasure of the Friday night travelling public, but not so the rather abrasive station master – watch this space for the video!

A full Saturday spent whizzing round the back streets of London, an evening of putting together Punch and Judy costumes (thanks to Lindey’s creative genius), some moments of explorer charm (at this point we would especially like to thank the generosity shown by the Romford Raiders Ice Hockey Team) and some fine singing voices and dance routines unleashed on Lambeth Bridge saw us retain the trophy!

Thanks go to Kev and Russ for once again providing their organisational expertise, and a big pat on the back goes to all the rest of us for relentlessly pounding the streets in the name of Kilmuir.

Nov 2007

Some £30,000 worth of baked beans and pasta went into our total token fund, and I think you’ll agree, money well spent. Lets just hope that the next active kids promotion actually offers active kids!

Nov 2007

First up, a big thanks goes to Nanna Morton. Having heard tales of adventure from grandson Michael, she dug deep into her pocket and gave us an extremely generous donation. Take a look at the new cooking equipment we have lavished upon ourselves with the money! This way we can burn twice as many sausages at once, thank you very much. Not wanting to be out-done, we have also benefited to the whirling brightness of a projector thanks to Roger Mitchell and Ripple Junior School, Barking.

Of course, we don’t wish to miss anyone out, and really, we could thank countless other parents for their efforts over the years, but to pluck out just a few more individuals for their moment of glory – Papa Chick, for providing the many pallets needed to create POW camp and Daddy Voov for providing sound military back-up during that event, Mummy Jones, Mummy Campbell and Mummy Winston for putting up our Serbski chums, and the countless others who have all helped us in a multitude of ways over the years.

Nov 2007

To make the most of their time in London, a busy schedule of sightseeing and shopping was planned, taking in the sights from atop Tower Bridge, round Westminster and of course Buckingham Palace. But by far the most exhilarating experience for the guys was Primark, Oxford Street!

Our day at the seaside (Brighton) almost turned into a washout, following our 6 hour journey to get there, but Mitcha was not to be refused his opportunity of swimming the Channel, and bravely stripped down to his pants and attempted the feat, if only to be halted by the crushing 6 foot waves! Later that evening our resident dancing champ, Glenn, was beaten into submission by the body popping shapes thrown by Yetza as we boogied on down in a Brighton nightspot!

We said our goodbyes at our favourite tea rooms in Writtle before whisking them off to the Jamboree site in Hylands Park. It was a great four days and certainly not the last we’ll be seeing of these guys! Thanks must also go to Sue Pinto for cooking up an absolute treat of traditional English Cuisine, the Winston family for homing a needy Serb and Val Suggate for not being home.

Jul 2007

This year our hopes were high, we believed we had put together a crack team of explorers that could lay waste to all other feeble entries. Naturally, they crashed and burned. However our two underdog teams stepped up to the challenge, safeguarded our reputation and made us all proud by finishing in second and third place. So congratulations goes to Scott, Calum and Mike (2nd place) and Izzy, Tom and Rachel (3rd place) as well as the team of Young Leaders who took the title for a second year. As for the crack team, you know who you are, tut, tut, tut…

Jun 2007

Early Risings
With the calls of last orders at the bar only just reseeding into the background it was time to get up, wake up and walk. Marching off into the dark, early morning rain, this year’s Southern 50 Challenge appeared as if it were to be a tough one. We were not wrong.

From long hikes, smaller ones diverge
Some 10 miles after the 50 Milers had set out, our explorer teams were just beginning to warm up at the start line for their 30k event. Centurion entered two teams as we did last year, but back then only one finished in a time of 10hrs 55mins. This years teams, “Ummm What?” (Tom, Jo, Stacey and Tommy Mc) and “4 Non-Blondes” (Chris, Izzy, Jess and Scott) had one goal – to both finish (and if possible, a little faster than last years time would be good as well, hurry along now). Into the frame strode some confident explorers ready to lead their teams to the finish. Sometimes over-confidence can be more of a hindrance…, but after 3 hours of trying to gain entry to a caravan that was ‘disguised’ as check point one, even team 4 Non-Blondes were back on route and beavering their way to the finish line, managing a time of 12hrs 33mins. It was thus in the hands of Ummm What? to take the glory of beating last years time, and after 9hrs 29mins of hill bashing, they crossed the finishing line with the third fastest time posted by a unit from Hornchurch†!

Meanwhile...
Our 50k team “The Suicidal Potato Munchers” made up of 4 explorers who wanted to stretch themselves a bit more this year (Ian, Graeme, Freddy and Voov) were finding the going a bit tough! After a battling 41km, they retired from the competition with knee bending failure. Another team of 1EP and 2EP scout and cub leaders also had a go, but were overcome with similar injuries.

A Rampaging Finish
This years elite team was made up of all four Centurion leaders; if we were putting the kids through it, we should have a bash too! There were plenty of ups and downs during the 17hrs 44mins it took for us to cover the distance; fortunately this was more due to the terrain than dwindling spirits. From the 17 teams that set out to walk 50 miles, only 8 managed – it had been a tough year, but worth it for us, as ‘Ten Gallon Dixie’ (Mike Suggate, Richard Pinto, Alan Winston and Glenn Hadley) finished in 3rd place (some 4 hours behind the two teams in front of us, but they clearly have legs and joints made of metal). Our best ever placing in the event, WOW! Finally, thanks must go to Daddy Voov and Punky for lending their support!

Feb 2007

†30k Hornchurch Results through the ages